This invention relates to a liner system for an open-top trench, and to apparatus and methods for installing such a trench liner system.
There have in the past been a number of trench systems and apparatus for installing them. Each such system and apparatus, however, has been plagued by problems. One type of problem common in trench systems and apparatus for installing them is that the support structure used for installation of the trench liner cannot be re-used, but must be sacrificed with each installation. Examples of structures with this problem include Kehler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,773, and two patents to Beamer, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,993,877 and 4,993,878. In each of those patents, it is required to leave behind the supporting structure, or to destroy most or all of the form members used to form the trench in removing them and finishing the construction project. In Aleshire, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,655, the support structure is said to be removable, but such removal requires pulling steel rods out of set concrete, a task that is much more difficult than it is made to appear in that patent.
This invention relates to improvements over the methods and apparatus set forth above and to solutions to the problems raised or not solved thereby.